Valley doctor embodies both meanings of ‘vet’

YOUNGSTOWN -- When people use the term "vet," they either mean a veterinarian or a veteran, but rarely do they mean both.

Dr. Donald Allen, however, is that rare case where it is both.

Born in 1947 in Rockford, Illinois, Allen grew up in a family that wasn't as well off as others, with a mother who survived polio when he was 1 year old, and a father who died when he was young.

"My dad died when I was 6, so I never thought I'd go to college. This wasn't in the books; we didn't have any money," Allen said.

By the time Allen was an adult, the Vietnam War was being waged. Since college wasn't an option for him, he knew that he'd likely be drafted.

"I knew my day was coming, the draft was gonna catch up to me," Allen said. "I thought I should probably take control of my future, and decide to enlist rather than them getting me to go to the Army or Marines or whatever... so I looked at the Air Force, and I thought, 'That sounds pretty good.'"

After enlisting in 1967, Allen trained as a military journalist in the Air Force. He was then deployed to Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base on the island Mactan in the Philippines, where he wrote news stories about Air Force squadrons that flew over Vietnam.

"I started out as a stringer," Allen said. "C130s that got damaged over Vietnam would come to the Philippines, and they'd repair them. My job for those 13 months was to go around and get stories from the different squadrons."

After 13 months in the Philippines, he was reassigned to George Air Force Base in California for the rest of his tenure until being honorably discharged from the Air Force with the rank of staff sergeant.

After leaving active duty, Allen had the desire to become a veterinarian, but because of poor grades, he had to find another way to work with animals.

"I wanted to go to vet school, but my grades were pathetic so I decided to become a horseshoer. I went to a horseshoeing school in Illinois," Allen said.

Allen still wanted to be a veterinarian, but it was still a difficult path for him to take.

"I went to junior college, got my grades up. I transferred to the University of Illinois, got a bachelor's degree, then a master's degree," Allen said.

"After I got a bachelor's degree I applied to vet school in Illinois, and I got rejected and went, 'OK, I'll work on a master's degree.' Completed that, got rejected a second time and went, 'OK, what am I gonna do if I don't get into vet school? I think I'd like to work in a zoo.'"

Allen worked for a time at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago as the animal commissary manager, where he was in charge of purchasing food for the animals and supplies for zoo keepers. During this time he applied for veterinarian school for a third time and got accepted.

Despite being accepted to veterinarian school, he was still attached to his time in the service, and decided to enlist in the reserve.

"In 1980, I graduated from vet school in Illinois, and I started working there and I thought, 'You know what, I got four years of active duty, I should work in the reserves.' So I joined the Army Reserve in Wisconsin," Allen said.

Allen served 30 years in the reserve, first in the Army and then again in the Air Force. It was during that 30-year period that he moved to Youngstown in 1984, and continued his reserve service at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton.

It was also during this time he married his wife Paula in 1991. They ended up having two children together, Dana and Daniel. That same year, Allen started his own veterinary private practice in Youngstown. "And we've been here in this location for 35 years," Allen said.

Allen retired from the Air Force Reserve in 2010 with the rank of lieutenant colonel, but he said he does not plan on retiring as a veterinarian.

"I like what I do. People always ask me if I'm going to retire, and I don't see that in my foreseeable future," Allen said.

This love for animals stems from Allen's childhood, and his memories of his own pet cat named Mittens.

"Even as a kid I was always interested in helping animals ... If I found an injured bird, I would bring it home and try to nurse it back to health," Allen said. "We always had a cat; she was a calico. We named her Mittens because she had extra toes."

Despite being rejected twice, Allen still managed to get the career he wanted, and what he learned in the Air Force helped with that.

"Your future depends on the person in the mirror. It's up to you, it's not up to anybody else," Allen said.

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Dr. Donald Allen

AGE: 79

RESIDENCE: Youngstown

SERVICE BRANCH: Air Force

MILITARY HONORS: Meritorious Service Medal

OCCUPATION: Veterinarian

FAMILY: wife, Paula; daughter, Dana; son, Daniel (deceased); grandchildren, Ethan, Ava, Cole, Eila, Alyssa and Adriana